Words that can’t sit still: review of Warsaw Bikini and interview with author Sandra Simonds The Jerusalem Post, January 30, 2009 To move through the pages of Sandra Simonds’s collection of poetry, Warsaw Bikini, is to move with intent, with care, as though you were walking through a minefield. That’s not to say Warsaw …
The story behind the story: review of Thomas Keneally’s memoir Searching for Schindler The Jerusalem Post, January 2, 2009 More than 25 years after the publication of Thomas Keneally’s Schindler’s Ark, which Steven Spielberg adapted into the Academy Award-winning film Schindler’s List, comes Keneally’s latest, Searching for Schindler. Keneally is a well-established figure in …
Up against a wall The Jerusalem Post, December 26, 2008 Slapped over the graffiti and posters that decorate an abandoned building on otherwise glossy Dizengoff is an advertisement – in plain typeface on plain white paper – for “Desert Life,” the first exhibition of a new artists’ collective. The homegrown advertisement mirrors both the …
Bittersweet surrender The Jerusalem Post, December 12, 2008 I landed in the Philippines as I land everywhere – with no plans. Though I didn’t know where I was going, I knew exactly what I was looking for: a mind-blowing beach, minus the mind-numbing tourist scene. I wanted meditatively quiet sands, a place to let …
Where there’s smoke: review of A.B. Yehoshua’s novel Friendly Fire The Jerusalem Post, December 12, 2008 While perusing the bowing bookshelves of a dinner party host recently, I noticed a large A.B. Yehoshua collection. “Looks like someone’s a Yehoshua fan,” I remarked. The hostess laughed, “Not exactly.” She explained the books once belonged to …
Burgeoning Beirut bourgeois The Jerusalem Post, November 28, 2008 (published under a pen name to protect the identity of the interviewees) It’s Friday night and we’re piled into a SUV, headed toward Gemmayze – the uber-hip district of the moment in Beirut where young people go to party. My host sits in the passenger seat, …
Bare-faced humor: review of Alan Zweibel’s non-fiction collection Clothing Optional The Jerusalem Post, October 31, 2008 Clothing Optional and Other Ways to Read These Stories is the latest effort by award-winning comedy writer Alan Zweibel. This imaginative collection includes a wide range of forms – from a mock court deposition, to essays, to scripts, with …
Fugee Fridays The Jerusalem Post, October 24, 2008 It’s almost Shabbat and Tel Aviv’s Carmel Market is slowly closing up. Stalls are clapped shut, the walkways are sprayed with water, and the last of the customers are clearing out, passing by mounds of unsold lettuce that have been dumped on the ground. Behind the shuk, …
From sunny Tel Aviv to cloudy Michigan: review of Danit Brown’s collection of short stories Ask for a Convertible The Jerusalem Post, October 24, 2008 Danit Brown’s debut, Ask for a Convertible, is a collection of beautifully woven short stories, most of which revolve around Osnat Greenberg, who is both American and Israeli and comfortable …
Silicon Wadi: interview with Israeli author Noga Niv The Jerusalem Post, September 5, 2008 For Hebrew readers who would like a glimpse at what life is like for Israelis in America, Noga Niv’s debut novel, Story from the Bubble, will make for a round look into their experiences. This character-driven story focuses on five Israeli …